


The Boys Are Back

by flannery_culp



Category: High School Musical (Movies)
Genre: Angst, HSM 3, M/M, Senior year
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-06
Updated: 2017-08-07
Packaged: 2018-08-29 08:30:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8482612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flannery_culp/pseuds/flannery_culp
Summary: Troy and Chad have always been best friends.  They've had their plans figured out since they were kids—play basketball together in high school, and then keep playing basketball together in college.But when senior year starts, nothing is the way that Chad thought it would be.  His summer relationship with Ryan has totally dissolved.  Troy hardly cares about anything except Gabriella.  Winning the championship feels like a shot for things to go back to the way they're supposed to, but he gets dragged into the musical, everything just gets even more confusing.  Especially when it comes to him and Troy.





	1. Chapter 1

"Hey, man, great game, right?"

Chad turned around. Rocketman was right behind him. Too close.

"Yeah," he said. "That was a nice shot."

"Thanks, man," Rocketman said. He put an arm around Chads shoulder, which Chad promptly shook off. It was usually pretty hard to tell when this kid was high and when he wasn't, but right now, Chad was pretty sure that high was a safe guess.

"Have you seen Troy?" Chad asked.

"Nah, man," Rocketman said. "But if you see him, let me know, okay?" He clapped Chad on the back and ran off.

Chad shook his head, and walked over to the table where the punch was. He poured a cup, looking for Kelsi's secret liquor stash. She had promised she would hide some somewhere around here.

"It's the water bottle under the table."

Chad tried to seem relaxed as he reached under the table. "Thanks," he said, avoiding eye contact with Ryan as he scanned the area for adults who would care.

"No problem," Ryan said. He reached an arm over Chad to fill up his cup, and Chad tried not to think too much of it. "Just make sure you leave some for me." Chad poured himself a hefty amount of alcohol—he wasn't sure what it was, but it wasn't like he was picky—and handed the bottle to Ryan.

"You guys played a great game, by the way," Ryan said.

"Thanks," Chad said, taking a large sip. Vodka. It burned the back of his throat. "You were good too." Where the fuck was Troy? This was the last thing that he needed right now. There was not enough alcohol in the world to overcome how awkward this was going to be.

And then he found him, halfway across the yard, hard to pick out in a sea of red and white. He was standing with his dad, talking to someone. "Troy!" he called, waving an arm. The party was loud, but somehow Troy managed to catch his eye and wave him over. Equally happy to find Troy and get away from Ryan, Chad ran over. He was vaguely aware of Ryan saying something as he left, but he took another sip of his drink and chose to ignore it. They had barely talked since the summer, there was no reason to start talking now.

"There you are," Troy said, patting Chad on the back. He was wearing an open sweatshirt over an open button-down over a t-shirt, and somehow pulling it off, which Chad tried not to think too hard about. "I've been looking for you everywhere."

Chad felt his face flush, and told himself it was the alcohol. "Me too," he said. "This party's intense."

"These are the talent scouts from U of A," Troy said, motioning to the two men he had been talking to.

"Great game," one of them said, offering Chad a hand. Chad shook it, trying hard not to reveal what was in his solo cup.

"Thanks," Chad said. "And thank you so much for coming. That's... Wow."

The two men smiled at each other knowingly. "We've got quite a bit to discuss with your coach, so we'll let you get back to your party," the first man said.

"Keep up the good work, boys," said the other. "Hopefully we'll see you on the court next year."

"Jesus shit," Chad said as soon as they were out of earshot. "If I had known that's who you were talking to I wouldn't have brought a cup full of alcohol over."

"Speaking of," Troy said, reaching for Chad's cup.

"Excuse me?" Chad asked, holding the cup just out of Troy's reach.

"Come on," Troy said. "I haven't had a chance to get over there all night. You're like the first person under 30 I've talked to since the party started. I'll get you a refill, I promise."

"Fine," Chad said, rolling his eyes. He handed Troy the cup, and Troy took a large gulp. "I'm holding you to that refill though."

"I've got you," Troy said, taking another sip. "But is this like, a me taking your alcohol thing? Or like a you avoiding Ryan who will be dancing over there all night thing?"

Chad glared at him, grabbing the drink back. "I told you I'm over him," Chad said. He took a drink, choosing his words carefully. "I've moved on. He's not the only guy in the world, you know."

Troy looked at him, and for a second Chad wondered if he had said too much. He looked down into his cup, now almost empty. He had spent the entire game—their last game together as Wildcats—trying to ignore his feeling, and he could already feel the vodka working on him. He didn't trust himself to meet Troy's gaze.

"Troy!"

They both looked up. Gabriella was standing in Troy's old treehouse, the one that he and Chad had spent countless hours in when they were growing up.

"Gabriella," Troy called. "I've been looking for you everywhere." He turned to Chad, already on his way over to the tree. "I'll find you later," he called. "With that refill, I promise!"

Chad nodded, hoping his face didn't give away how disappointed he was. He looked around the crowd for someone, anyone who could distract him. They were all familiar faces, but none of them were people he wanted to talk to right now. He looked up at the treehouse, only able to partially make out Troy and Gabriella's shapes.

There was no point in torturing himself, and there was no point in waiting on Troy for a refill. He downed the rest of his drink, the vodka hot on the back of his throat, and went back for another.


	2. Chapter 2

"And don't forget to sign up for the Spring Musi _cal_ ," Ms. Darbus said, as she stood at the front of the room.  "We hardly have anyone signed up so far, and for many of you this is your last chance to experience the magic that is the theatre!"

Sharpay jumped up.  "Maybe we should just do a one-woman show," she suggested, overly eager.

Chad turned to Troy and rolled his eyes.  He was too hungover to deal with this.  Troy just shook his head.

"Actually," Kelsi said, running a sheet of paper up to Ms. Darbus, "we had a lot of last-minute sign-ups this year."  Kelsi went back to her seat, sinking down into it as she bit her lip.

"Well isn't that nice," Ms. Darbus said, looking at the paper.  "It looks like nearly the whole room is signed up!  I'll see all of you during your free period."  The bell rang.  "Which starts in five minutes.  Don't be late!"

Gabriella turned to Kelsi.  "You didn't," she said.

Kelsi sank lower in her chair.  "I might have."

"Who?" Troy asked.

Sheepishly, she handed him the sheet.  Chad read over his shoulder.  They were all there: Troy and Gabriella, him and Taylor, even Zeke and Jason.

"Kelsi," Troy said.

"I'm sorry!" Kelsi said.  She jumped out of her seat, threw her bag over her shoulder, and ran to the theater.

* * *

 "Kelsi, I don't have the time to do this," Troy said as they all walked into the theater.

"I want to but I don't have time either," Gabriella said.  "We've all got finals, and college, and..."

"I've never done a play in my life," Chad said, holding his basketball tight to his chest.  "And I don't dance."

 There was a laugh behind him that was undoubtedly Ryan's, and Chad had to fight against turning around.  "Sure you don't," Ryan said under his breath, but not quietly enough that Chad couldn't hear him.

"I'm sorry!" Kelsi said, holding her sheet music like a shield in front of her.  "It's our last show together, I really thought that you guys would want to do it."

Gabriella turned to face them all.  "Kelsi has a point," she said, giving a sad smile.  "It will be fun to do one last show all together, won't it?"

"I guess it would," Troy said, putting an arm around Gabriella.  Chad looked down at the floor.  Of course Troy would change his mind when Gabriella decided she liked the idea.  He would do anything for her.

"What's the show even about?" Chad asked.

"It's about you, Mr. Danforth."  Chad looked back up to see Ms. Darbus crossing the stage.

"Me?" he asked, his heartbeat suddenly racing.  Troy laughed.  Ms. Darbus motioned for Chad to throw her his basketball, so he did.  To his surprise, she caught it, dribbled it a few times, and then tossed it back.

"It's about all of you," Ms. Darbus said.  "We're calling the show, 'Senior Year'.  Kelsi will write music, Ryan will choreograph, and the rest of you will supply the story."

Perfect.  He could see it now: afternoons spent learning choreography from Ryan in his tight pants and his stupid hair.  Watching Troy and Gabriella sing about how much they were in love with each other.  Watching Troy sing and dance.

Watching Troy.

He couldn't do that to himself.  He had to draw the line somewhere.  "I still don't know about this," Chad said.

"Come on, man," Troy said.  "Basketball season is over, we need something to do with all of our free time now.  It'll be fun."

Troy looked at him with a pleading smile, his eyes bright and his jaw crooked.  He put out his hands, waiting for Chad to throw the basketball.  Chad couldn't resist.

"Fine," he said.  "But no tights."


	3. Chapter 3

"Did you forget an umbrella, or did you decide to go for a swim before school?" Chad asked as Troy walked into to gym. He was wearing a suit jacket over a t-shirt and jeans, a look that even Troy had trouble pulling off. Although the more Chad looked, the more it was growing on him.

" _I_ just got a date to prom," Troy said, shedding his jacket. The t-shirt clung to his skin. "So I would not be throwing insults if I were you." He shook his hair like a dog, stray drops of water hitting Chad. "So what are you going to do?"

"About prom?" Chad asked.

"Yes, about prom," Troy said. "There's no way you're not going." He took off his shirt and reached for a towel, patting himself dry and then tossing it around his shoulders.

"I don't know," Chad said. He looked down at the floor, poking the tiles with the tip of his sneaker. He had been hoping that if he didn't think about prom it just wouldn't happen. "I haven't really thought about it."

"Didn't you say there was some new guy you were into?" Troy asked.

"I'm not going to prom with a guy," Chad said, hoping he could breeze by exactly who that guy was.

"I wasn't saying you had to," Troy said, sitting down on the bench next to him. "Do what you've got to do, man. I just thought you might want to." God, Chad wished he wouldn't sit so close.

"I'll probably just ask one of the cheerleaders," Chad said. It would be easiest that way. A jock and a cheerleader was something that no one would question. That was how most people saw him, anyway. Maybe it would feel good to actually be that guy again for a night. Or maybe it would send him into a spiral of self-hatred. It was pretty much a fifty/fifty chance.

"You could always ask Taylor."

"Yeah," Chad said, laughing. "Ask my ex to prom, that's a great idea."

"It's not like you're on bad terms," Troy said. "She's not seeing anyone right now. And you guys had fun. Besides, she's Gabriella's best friend, so you're guaranteed to spend the night hanging out with us."

That, at least, was something that Chad could get behind. If he couldn't be with Troy, at least he could be around him.

"Alright," he said. "I'll ask Taylor."

"Good," Troy said, clapping Chad on the back. "Now onto even more important matters: how are we going to put the new guys in their place?"


	4. Chapter 4

Chad waited as the phone rang on the other end, praying that she would pick up. It seemed like an eternity, but just as he thought he was going to be sent to voicemail, he heard her voice. "Hello?"

"Gabriella, thank God you picked up," he said. He switched his phone to his other hand, and reached for the basketball on his bedside table, holding it close to his chest. "I need your help. Big time."

"With Taylor?" Gabriella asked. "I'm sorry, Chad, but I don't think I can help you there. You know how she is when she sets her mind to something."

Chad leaned back against the headboard of his bed. "Can you try?" he asked. "Please? She's your best friend, she'll listen to you. I'll do anything. I'll pay Zeke to bake you cookies."

"You know how closely Taylor plays her cards to her chest," Gabriella said. "She acts like she doesn't care, but I honestly think you hurt her feelings by just assuming that she would go with you. She cares about you, Chad. And she's not upset that you two aren't what you used to be, but I think she feels like you sometimes act like you're still together whenever it's convenient for you."

"Shit," he said. Of course she was right. She always was. "I honestly never thought of it like that."

"I know," Gabriella said. "And she knows that, too. But you've got to give her something." Chad nodded, knowing that Gabriella couldn't see, but not knowing what else to say. "How bad is it?" she asked. "Between you and Ryan, I mean?"

Chad sighed, relieved at least that he had this excuse for how uncomfortable he was. "They're not great," he said. "I think it's more awkward than anything else, though. I just really,  _really_ don't want to show up to prom alone and have him see me like that."

"I know," Gabriella said. "Prom is... tough."

Chad's heart raced at the hesitation in her voice. Could something be going on between her and Troy? He hated himself for even thinking that. No, not thinking:  _hoping_. This was his best friend since preschool, and based on one off-handed comment he was already planning what could happen if he and his girlfriend broke up before prom.

"Troy's here, I have to go," Gabriella said, crushing all of the images that Chad's brain had quickly conjured up. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay? And you'll think of something nice for Taylor. I'm sure."

She hung up before Chad could say anything else. He leaned back until he was lying down, throwing his basketball up at the ceiling and then catching it, debating the concept of letting it crash into his ribcage.

What was he doing here, anyway? What was he thinking?

He wasn't. That was the problem. Right here, right now, he was going to pull himself together and get over it. It probably wasn't even real—just a reaction to whatever was going on with Ryan. None of those weird moments in the locker room meant anything. None of the awkward hang-outs they had back in middle school. He didn't need to spend his nights thinking about it anymore, because none of it mattered.

He sat up. He was going to plan something for Taylor. He was going to take her to prom. He was going to stop thinking about Troy, and he was going to get over Ryan. Even if it killed him.


End file.
